NBC Reports Herbal Tea Plays Key Role in preventing Dementia, Heart Disease, and Early Death

PR Log (Press Release) – Oct 20, 2009 – When Dateline NBC reported herbal tea as a key ingredient to fighting off dementia and living a longer, healthier life, Homegrown Herb and Tea in Portland, Maine never imagined that their sales would double. The report, based on a study performed by an international team of longevity researchers and is now the basis of the book, “The Blue Zones, Lessons For Living Longer From The People Who've Lived The Longest,” listed herbal tea as one of the ten most important factors to a long, healthy life after concluding their most recent study of the people of Ikaria, Greece.

According to study author Dan Buettner, “It's this regular, ritualistic consumption of herbal teas that we think explains low rates of heart disease and also low rates of dementia.”

Homegrown Herb and Tea, which is the only herbal apothecary tea shop in the US and now online at http://www.homegrownherbandtea.com, couldn't agree more. "I feel vindicated," said founder and owner Sarah Richards, who struggled for months after opening. "But I didn't need a report to prove this to me. Customers tell me all the time how much better they feel, how my teas have changed their lives - better focus, less colds, less pain, enhanced mood - you don't need an expert to tell you what your body can say so much better."

The herbal teas enjoyed by the people of Ikaria are not the store bought variety found in this country, the report shows. Following traditions and recipes passed down from one generation to the next, the people of Ikaria create their herbal teas by steeping fresh herbs, roots and berries grown locally. At Homegrown, it's no different. “We gather our herbs from local farmers whenever possible. Everything is grown organically. We do everything by hand. We don't fortify our teas with oils, flavors and sweeteners like the big herbal tea processors do. Our teas have powerful medicinal potency because the herbs are fresh and grown in complex, organic soils and not processed."

According to Buettner, how an herbal tea is enjoyed is as important as the tea itself. He points to the ritualistic manner in which a tea is blended, steeped and sipped. Richards also believes this is of equal importance. “There is an intentionality that goes into preparing a cup of herbal tea - it’s a thoughtfulness or a consciousness that you just can’t get from a machine.”

So what teas do Ikaria and Homegrown have in common? "For starters, we use fresh, organic herbs and blend our teas by hand on the day of order. We also use a lot of the herbs they use, but because we are not limited by local traditions and plants, we can blend herbs that have similar properties but are more medicinally complex or have more of the medical compounds desirable," said Richards. "A tea we call Herban Cowboy has a lot of the roots and berries that are powerful nootrophics - compounds that interact with the nervous system and brain to increase stamina, memory and concentration. Jewel's Focus Finder is another one we sell. Our Holy Tea is a good restorative tea that is packed with adaptogen compounds - molecules that interact with the nervous system to promote calm and undo the damage on the immune system caused by stress. The herbs in this blend are almost all Mediterranean herbs. We also have an arthritis blend that customers swear by, pregnancy teas with the alkaloid frangrine which studies show reduces birthing complications, a nightcap tea that will knock you out... The point is, there is never one tea. It is about finding the herbal tea that you love. This is what you need to incorporate into your life. Herbal tea in general."